Anxious families were awaiting word Saturday on whether their loved ones had escaped a raging inferno in Oakland, California, after at least nine people were killed during a late-night party at a converted warehouse.

At least two dozen people remained unaccounted for, officials said. “We expect the number of deceased to go up,” said Alameda County sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly. “This is a very, very sensitive time.”

Emergency responders have had to delicately trudge through the rubble in the search for more victims, Kelly said. He described a twisted mass of beams, wires, and wood that he called a “maze.”

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Feral Pines is among those missing after a warehouse fire in Oakland, California.Courtesy of family